Effects of succession stages and altitudinal gradient on leaf surface area and biomass allocation of typical plants in the subalpine of Eastern Tibetan Plateau

Varying Relationship Between Vascular Plant Leaf Area and Leaf Biomass Along an Elevational Gradient on the Eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

“…China (103° 57′ 05″–104° 42′ 05″ E, 33° 14′ 32″–33° 53′ 52″ N, 998–3,600 m a.s.l. ), which is the transition zone of temperate monsoon, subtropical monsoon, and plateau montane climate zones, and at the boundary between semihumid and semiarid regions ( Chen et al, 2021 ). According to the last 30 years of climatic data, the mean annual rainfall, evaporation of GBR, relative humidity, and mean annual temperature are 951 mm, 918 mm, 82%, and 4.3°C, respectively.…”

“…Previous studies have confirmed that leaf size spans six orders of magnitude ( Milla and Reich, 2007 ; Wright et al, 2017 ), and this variation in leaf size is the basis for maintaining biodiversity ( Mi et al, 2021 ). For leaves, abiotic factors (e.g., altitude) are one of the driving forces of variation ( Chen et al, 2021 ; Jiang et al, 2021 ; Ren et al, 2021 ). The scaling relationship between leaf traits caused by leaf size may affect leaf biomass and element allocation, and this relationship has also been proven to be one of the strategies for species to acquire resources, and even affect species coexistence and community construction ( Li et al, 2008 ; Ren et al, 2021 ).…”

“…The eastern region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has diverse native flora and is significant for protecting biodiversity and ecosystem balance ( Chen et al, 2021 ; Liu et al, 2021 ). Some vegetation of this region has been severely disturbed in the past.…”

“…Some vegetation of this region has been severely disturbed in the past. After decades of restoration and conservation, most of the vegetation is recovering ( Yan et al, 2013 ; Chen et al, 2021 ). Therefore, the region is one of the most powerful “natural laboratories” for studying the elevation responses of the plant ( Thakur et al, 2019 ).…”

A Bivariate Mapping Model Identifies Major Covariation QTLs for Biomass Allocation Between Leaf and Stem Growth of Catalpa bungei

“…The plant architecture determined by stems and branches is closely associated with foliage photosynthetic efficiency, cultivation, yield, light assimilation and harvesting. C allocation patterns also emerge among different tissues and traits within a single organ, such as taproot-lateral root, leaf thickness and surface area as well as diameter at breast height ( Chen et al, 2021 ). For instance, expression analysis in Arabidopsis suggested that excessive SMAX1 expression suppressed rosette shoot branching, while promoting leaf and petiole elongation via regulating TCP1 expression ( Zheng et al, 2021 ).…”